EC's first Innovation Deal focuses on water reuse

On 7 April 2017, European Commission (EC), together with 14 partners from national and regional authorities, universities, knowledge centres, innovators and end-users, signed the first Innovation Deal on"'Sustainable Waste Water Treatment Combining Anaerobic Membrane Technology (AnMbR) and Water Reuse".

The Innovation Deal instrument is a voluntary agreement, aiming to bring together relevant national, local and EU regulatory bodies to help innovators overcome perceived regulatory barriers to innovation. The concept of Innovation Deals has been launched in the scope of the Commission's Circular Economy package.

This first Innovation Deal focuses on an existing regulatory framework affecting water reuse for agricultural purposes. It will clarify the regulatory situation towards the end of the year, to create a basis for investment decisions in the technology. The Innovation Deal will explore solutions to overcome the perceived barriers, what the impacts and consequences of the solutions may be and which stakeholders should be involved. The European Commission may decide to start follow-up actions.